
Use of cryotongs: retrieving a frozen sample from a Dewar and mounting it on a goniometer
- Fill a 2 litre intermediate Dewar and a glass sample handling Dewar with liquid nitrogen
- Check that you can gain access to the magnet with the cryotongs by doing a ‘dry run’ with an empty top hat in the tongs
- Put the tongs in the small Dewar
- Transfer the cryocane, which is holding the desired crystal from the storage Dewar or dry Dewar to the 2 litre Dewar
- Place the vial holder into the small Dewar to cool down.
Put on a pair of cryogloves
- Lift the cryocane out of the 2 litre Dewar and take out the required vial with the other hand or with the vial tweezers
- Place the vial in the vial holder (or the vial tweezers) and put them both into the small Dewar
- If there is a lid on the vial, remove it using the lid opener
- Place the magnetic wand in the small Dewar and wait for it to cool down
- Put the wand on the top hat and withdraw it from the vial keeping the hat under the liquid nitrogen
- Take the vial holder and empty the vial out of the small Dewar and put the tongs into the Dewar
- When the tongs are cold (surface of the liquid nitrogen becomes calm) open them and grasp the top hat
- Withdraw the wand sideways and put it down
- Move the small Dewar as close to the goniometer as possible
- Lift the tongs to the goniometer magnet and place the top hat base on the magnetic base
- Release the tongs and carefully withdraw them
- Proceed with crystal alignment
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